YOUNG ADAM
RATING: B
A
Sony Pictures Classic Release
Starring: Starring
Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan, Emily Mortimer. Casting
by Des Hamilton, Film Editor Colin Monie, Production Designer
Laurence Dorman, Director of Photography Giles Nuttgens, Music
by David Byrne, Based on the Novel by Alexander Trocchi, Produced
by Jeremy Thomas, Written and Directed by David Mackenzie.
Rated R, Running Time 120 mins. 2.40 :1 Anamorphic Scope Aspect
Ratio.
No stranger to playing roles of varying degrees, Ewan McGregor
is Joe, a young drifter who finds work on a barge in Glasgow of
the early 50's. The owner of the barge is Les (Peter Mullan) who
takes Joe under his wing like a brother and along with his wife
Ella (Tilda Swinton), travel up and down the canal between Edinburgh
and Glasgow. One morning Les and Joe fish a corpse out of the
water, which appears to be the body of a young woman. Joe pretends
not to recognize her, but we soon discover that not only did he
know her, but also they were involved in a torrid affair weeks
earlier. The girl's name is Cathy (Emily Mortimer) and it appears
she met an untimely end under mysterious circumstances.
 As
the police begin a routine investigation, Joe occupies himself
by beginning a passionate affair with Ella, right under Les's
nose. Joe is only interested in the thrill of the affair, but
for Ella he becomes an addiction and when Les discovers their
deception, the thrill is quickly gone. As his relationship with
Ella continues in the absence of Les, Joe begins to revisit his
affair with Cathy, feeling guilt and remorse for the role he may
have played in the days leading up to her death. Even more difficult
is that fact that an innocent man that Cathy was seeing has been
charged with her murder and in an age full of gossip hungry and
repressed lynch mobs, Joe isn't sure whether he should come forward
with information or remain silent.
'Young Adam" was directed by David Mackenzie and is based
on the novel by Scottish beat writer Alexander Trocchi. Mackenzie
describes the story as "degrees of innocence within a hypocritical
and moral climate." It is set in a time where society fed
on sex, fed on gossip and fed on pointing the finger at just about
anyone. At the center of it all is McGregor's fascinating portrayal
of Joe, a sort of "vampire" himself, who is a true existentialist
and lives only for the moment. He doesn't seduce Ella or other
woman, for any sort of status or to get at people, he does it
merely for the pleasure. Even when his "best friend"
Les discovers the affair, Joe just tells him, "sorry, it
just happened, it was nothing personal."
 "McGregor's
work is only rivaled by Swinton, who is one of the most underrated
and unrecognized actresses on the planet. She may gain notice
for her work in the upcoming "Constantine". As Ella,
she's a bit apprehensive towards fooling around with Joe, but
soon she becomes so addicted to him that when Les discovers the
two of them in bed, they take their sweet time getting up and
confronting him. The eroticism and exposure these actors partake
in explodes off the screen in a bold way. The chemistry between
them is so strong that they sneak off to grope or have sex with
each other in the most peculiar and tiniest places on a barge
where three people reside and Les is unsuspecting the whole time.
Once Les departs and Ella and Joe are left alone with her son,
she starts suggesting marriage and that's where Joe loses interest.
"Young Adam" is a well-made small film that visually
captures the bleakness and brooding of the time period. Its dark
and dirty, but somehow remains beautiful as well. It was a complete
surprise that this film wasn't released in the States in 2003.
Everything seems geared around Oscars these days, but nevertheless
this is a wonderful piece of Scottish art house cinema that you
shouldn't let slip by when it hit our shores.
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